Need some advice about overclocking my i7 920...

[RIC_BARKER]

Hi guys,

I'm hoping to tap into your expertise here.

I've just bought and built a new system, (Gigabyte EX58-UD5, Intel i7 920, Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme, GTX 260, 3x1GB Kingston HyperX 1800MHz DDR3 RAM).

It's running pretty well at a stable 3.2Ghz, but I want more.

Here is where I currently am as regard voltages etc.

CPU clock Ratio = 20x
QPI Link = Auto
QPI Spd = 5.76Ghz
BCLK = 165
Memory multiplier = 10 (1066 - 1600)
Uncore Freq = 20x (3200mhz)
CPU Core = 1.3v
QPI/VTT 1.34v
IOH = Auto
Dram = 1.5v

I'm kinda stuck here though. If I raise the BCLK to 170 I can boot into Windows but it crashes when running Prime 95. At these setting I'm running cool still, 32 Deg C @ idle, 55 Deg C under load, is this ok?

I want to get to around the 4Ghz mark...I assume this is possible with this gear?

So I'm looking for suggestions as to what to try next, and where the limits are. I would experiment myself more blindly, but I'm worried I might break something!

Thanks in advance.  :)

Ric B.

[SubZer0]

Congratulations on the new system

Overclocking i7s aren't hard at all. Try leaving everything on auto and set the CPU multiplier to 20x and the BCLK to 190. The memory should be run at its default timings and as closest to its rated speed as you can get it (1800mhz)

See what that does

[Ulf B]

Article on OC:ing the 920: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2 ... e-i7-920/1

[RIC_BARKER]

Congratulations on the new system

Overclocking i7s aren't hard at all. Try leaving everything on auto and set the CPU multiplier to 20x and the BCLK to 190. The memory should be run at its default timings and as closest to its rated speed as you can get it (1800mhz)

See what that does

Andy,

Thanks for the tip, leaving everything in auto seems to have done the trick, I'm now up to 3.6Ghz with a bclk of 180, any higher and it fails to boot.

One thing I have noticed, in auto my mobo seems to shift the multiplier around on it's own, it went up to 21x at one point. I didn't think the 920/940 could do this (well, I thought they could only go down, not up)?

My temps at 180 seem to be up around the 80 Deg C mark, is that ok? I know the max is 100, but I assume that's a peak temp, not an "everyday" temp?


Also, Andy, thanks for your help and clarification about what an i7 system could do, I'm glad I took your advice and went down this route, FSX is really coming alive now!

Ric B.

[Ulf B]

Congratulations on the new system

Overclocking i7s aren't hard at all. Try leaving everything on auto and set the CPU multiplier to 20x and the BCLK to 190. The memory should be run at its default timings and as closest to its rated speed as you can get it (1800mhz)

See what that does

Andy,

Thanks for the tip, leaving everything in auto seems to have done the trick, I'm now up to 3.6Ghz with a bclk of 180, any higher and it fails to boot.

One thing I have noticed, in auto my mobo seems to shift the multiplier around on it's own, it went up to 21x at one point. I didn't think the 920/940 could do this (well, I thought they could only go down, not up)?

My temps at 180 seem to be up around the 80 Deg C mark, is that ok? I know the max is 100, but I assume that's a peak temp, not an "everyday" temp?


Also, Andy, thanks for your help and clarification about what an i7 system could do, I'm glad I took your advice and went down this route, FSX is really coming alive now!

Ric B.

Read that article and get your BIOS settings right. You must disable speedstep and such in BIOS to prevent your BIOS from changing multiplier.

[RIC_BARKER]

Ulf,

I googled around when I built this thing last week, and that article was the 1st one I found. I followed it to the letter but didn't have much luck. No matter what I try I can't seem to get my bclk past 170-175. My main issue is I don't know what it's failing on, CPU, ram etc. Is there any way to set this up so everything can be individually tested for speed/stability.

Oh, by the way, yes, this is my first OC, so thanks for the help/advice!

Ric B

[Ulf B]

One thing I have noticed, in auto my mobo seems to shift the multiplier around on it's own, it went up to 21x at one point. I didn't think the 920/940 could do this (well, I thought they could only go down, not up)?

That happens when you haven't set up BIOS correct. You have to disable settings in your BIOS that automatically changes the multiplier settings, core voltage etc. Read that article and study the BIOS images carefully.

My temps at 180 seem to be up around the 80 Deg C mark, is that ok? I know the max is 100, but I assume that's a peak temp, not an "everyday" temp?

What program do you use to read the temps? Download RealTemp v2.90 and set TJ Max to 100. This will give you correct readings of the temp. If the temp is about 80C when running the CPU on 3.2GHz I would suspect that the cooling isn't working as it should. What environment temp do you have (room temp)? Is the cooler mounted towards the rear end chassi fans? It's important that the cooler blows the air out of the chassi.

[RIC_BARKER]

One thing I have noticed, in auto my mobo seems to shift the multiplier around on it's own, it went up to 21x at one point. I didn't think the 920/940 could do this (well, I thought they could only go down, not up)?

That happens when you haven't set up BIOS correct. You have to disable settings in your BIOS that automatically changes the multiplier settings, core voltage etc. Read that article and study the BIOS images carefully.

My temps at 180 seem to be up around the 80 Deg C mark, is that ok? I know the max is 100, but I assume that's a peak temp, not an "everyday" temp?

What program do you use to read the temps? Download RealTemp v2.90 and set TJ Max to 100. This will give you correct readings of the temp. If the temp is about 80C when running the CPU on 3.2GHz I would suspect that the cooling isn't working as it should. What environment temp do you have (room temp)? Is the cooler mounted towards the rear end chassi fans? It's important that the cooler blows the air out of the chassi.

Ok, yep, I'll make sure that's off next time.

As for cooling - I have the system set up inside a modified antec 900 case, I have 3 fans in the front.

The Cooler is mounted vertically so it exhausts out of the 200mm fan at the top, it lines up perfectly. I using realtemp. I'm at 80 degrees while running at 3.6, not 3.2.

Room temp is quite high, around 24 degrees C.

Ric B.

[Ulf B]

The Cooler is mounted vertically so it exhausts out of the 200mm fan at the top, it lines up perfectly. I using realtemp. I'm at 80 degrees while running at 3.6, not 3.2.

Room temp is quite high, around 24 degrees C.

Ric B.

Ric,

I'm not sure but something is wrong here. You shouldn't have that high temps with that cooler. Do you get these temps while running OCCT? What are the your idle temps?

You have Hyperthreading disabled in BIOS? If not, this will increase the temps, but wont make FSX run any faster.

[SubZer0]

Hey Ric,

Your room temp seems to be a bit high to me. I like to keep my ambient temps at no higher than 22.2c/72fahrenheit. That will help lower your temps a little bit.

The max for the i7 is actually 80c. If you go above that while stress testing, you need to back down on your clock a little bit.

Ric, have you disabled any of the 'advanced' cpu functions in the BIOS? Just disabling HyperThreading alone will lower your temps dramatically. FSX and many other programs don't even use HT. It's only really useful if you're doing anything audio/video related such as encoding or rendering. I myself have all of these advanced CPU functions DISABLED and that's how I manage to keep my temps well under 80c with a BCLK of 190.




OK, so you've hit 3.6ghz safely with everything on auto. I don't think I was able to get above 3.8 without manually changing the CPU voltage. I have mine at 1.2875 for 3.8ghz. Try running that, or maybe a

[RIC_BARKER]

Ok, thanks for the info, I guess my room temps are pretty high. I'll turn HT off, and all the other "power management" features too.

It was my understanding that RAM voltage should be below the specified max for the stick but also within 0.5v of the QPI/DRAM voltage? I'm a little confused about the specs of my ram, I see more than one voltage listed here: http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KHX14400D3_1G.pdf (see description, voltage ranges from 1.5-1.9v) Can anyone clear this up for me?

I'm actually away from home at the moment, I'll try out your suggestions and report back!

Thanks,

Ric B.

[SubZer0]

Ok, thanks for the info, I guess my room temps are pretty high. I'll turn HT off, and all the other "power management" features too.

It was my understanding that RAM voltage should be below the specified max for the stick but also within 0.5v of the QPI/DRAM voltage? I'm a little confused about the specs of my ram, I see more than one voltage listed here: http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KHX14400D3_1G.pdf (see description, voltage ranges from 1.5-1.9v) Can anyone clear this up for me?

I'm actually away from home at the moment, I'll try out your suggestions and report back!

Thanks,

Ric B.

If you're running an i7, the voltage of the RAM should never be agove 1.66v period. You WILL BURN YOUR PROCESSOR if you do. I guess if the memory is rated at 1.5v then go ahead and do give it that voltage and leave the QPI at auto.

I think what was said in the link you gave was that they tested the memory up to 1.9v and it was stable, but it's standard rating is 1.5v

[Ulf B]

If you're running an i7, the voltage of the RAM should never be agove 1.66v period. You WILL BURN YOUR PROCESSOR if you do. I guess if the memory is rated at 1.5v then go ahead and do give it that voltage and leave the QPI at auto.

I think what was said in the link you gave was that they tested the memory up to 1.9v and it was stable, but it's standard rating is 1.5v

Actually you may exceed 1.65V as long as you have no more than 0.50v difference between the DRAM voltage and the QPI/DRAM bus voltage (uncore voltage). The QPI/DRAM voltage is pretty low by default, that's why memory specs say 1.65V.

[jwenham]

Congratulations on the new system

Overclocking i7s aren't hard at all. Try leaving everything on auto and set the CPU multiplier to 20x and the BCLK to 190. The memory should be run at its default timings and as closest to its rated speed as you can get it (1800mhz)

See what that does

Andy,

Thanks for the tip, leaving everything in auto seems to have done the trick, I'm now up to 3.6Ghz with a bclk of 180, any higher and it fails to boot.

One thing I have noticed, in auto my mobo seems to shift the multiplier around on it's own, it went up to 21x at one point. I didn't think the 920/940 could do this (well, I thought they could only go down, not up)?

My temps at 180 seem to be up around the 80 Deg C mark, is that ok? I know the max is 100, but I assume that's a peak temp, not an "everyday" temp?


Also, Andy, thanks for your help and clarification about what an i7 system could do, I'm glad I took your advice and went down this route, FSX is really coming alive now!

Ric B.

Make sure you do these settings in the BIOS

LOAD LINE CALIBRATION - Set to Enable

Set the following to Disable
CPU Spread Spectrum
C1E Support
Intel Virtualization Tech
CPU TM Function
Hyper Thread Technology
C-State Tech

The above will keep your mult steady as well as yout CPU voltage

[grizzard]

If it helps this is what works for me. I'm running at 3.6 and can get to 3.7, but I feel I have a little more headroom at 3.6. My temps run 67 - 70 and I've passed a "Torture Test" using OCCT (1 hour)

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My system:

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